Whatever Way The Wind Blows
by crazyasmidnight
Summary: Anna starts to venture out in life after turning 21. Could she have found the perfect man without even realizing it? (Rating M for future smut and violence)
1. Chapter 1

Anna had just made her way to the door, on her way to celebrate her first night out since her 21st birthday. Elsa, their cousin Rapunzel, Rapunzel's overly-zealous husband Flynn, and Elsa's friend Hans all awaited her arrival at the lowest-key bar in town, the Dry Distillery. The bar sits along the railroad tracks, in the end of town that most stragglers would be open to consider the middle of nowhere. Anna wasn't one to make a scene, anyway… clubs just weren't on the agenda.

Entering through the large, vintage wooden front door, Anna spotted her friends, sitting at a round table across the bar. She took the open seat as everyone wished her a happy birthday. "It's so nice to be out and about in normal street clothes…" Elsa laughed. "Those dresses get so old after a while…"

"I completely agree. Even my most elegant gowns are a bit worn out themselves. I should buy a new one soon…" Flynn laughed whole-heartedly as Rapunzel nudged him, jokingly in the right arm.

"I'll go buy us all a round…" Anna chimed. She proceeded toward the eerily empty bar. Noticing a man sitting at the very last corner seat, she couldn't help but stare. She approached the bartender, ordering a drink each for Elsa, Rapunzel, Flynn, and Hans. Anna chose to remain sober… she was clumsy enough in her own right. Out of the corner of her eye, the large, burly man caught her eye again. He looked so… miserable. So lonely. She took notice to his beverage of choice, and added that to her round of drinks.

Taking her drinks to the round table, she distributed everything except the man's drink. Elsa, clearly already a few under the table, announced loudly, "Oh! Great! Another charity case for Anna! You're kidding me this time, right, Anna? Has he even bathed this month?!" Rapunzel tried to calm Elsa's tone, but the damage had already been done. Stares emancipated from the few patrons of the establishment. Trying to ignore the stares, and the awkward feelings that her sister had bestowed upon her, she approached the man. He never looked up.

With her always cheerful, sometimes overly-friendly tone, she placed the drink on the bar beside him. "Hi! You looked a little down in the dumps, so I figured this might at least make you smile. Enjoy!" Anna silenced, she smiled, and turned away.

The drink smashed to the floor. "I am NOT a charity case. Save your money for a pity party for some hobo that hasn't bathed in months. I earn my own keep, I can afford my own things. You're ignorant, you're rude, and the audacity you have to even approach me after what I just heard coming from your table disgusts me." The man angrily shouted in Anna's face, nearly spitting. Against her normal reaction, Anna snapped, bracing her balance with the barstool beside him. "Excuse me?! I am an adult. My sister's comments, as inexcusable and degrading as they may be, and her ridiculous opinions do NOT speak for my morals. They do NOT represent my opinions, and they certainly do NOT represent me! I just tried to be kind to a total stranger, and this is what I get? I'll remember what a fool I was. Thanks for reminding me why it doesn't pay to be generous."

As Anna turned quickly to remove herself from the situation, in typical "Anna fashion", the barstool that Anna was leaning on flopped back to the ground surface, inadvertently landing on the leg of the base of her jeans. Apparently, also tearing a hole in the fabric. As the said hole looped over the stool leg, Anna crashed hard right on her stomach. Flynn began to run from the table toward her… the situation had gotten bad enough. As Anna began fidgeting awkwardly to break free, she realized how stuck she really, truly was. As he glared down from the bar, the burly man gave a deep groan of disgust. He reluctantly stepped down slowly from his stool, making Flynn stop in his tracks. The large man kneeled with a sigh. "Hold still." He said as he lifted the chair and managed to untangle all of the loose, freyed strings from where the denim had ripped. "There, next time don't be so clumsy." He extended a hand, and helped Anna up. She thanked him with embarrassment in her face and voice, and made her way back to her table.

Anna had decided that she had enough for one night. Following behind Flynn and Hans as they both supported a very drunken shoulder belonging to Elsa, the group went home for the night. The guys made sure that Elsa was safe in her apartment. After wishing Anna one last birthday wish, they had all gone home.

Practically changed into her pajamas, Anna began to search for her chap stick in her purse. While rummaging, she had realized that her credit card wasn't in there. She must have left it with the bartender when she bought the round! She had no choice to return. Elsa was sound asleep, and Flynn and Hans' phones were turned off. Anna decided that since it was the end of the night anyway, the bar was closing so pajama bottoms were just fine.

She drove 20 minutes to find the door unlocked. There was a stifled laughter from inside, as the bartender was cleaning up to close up the place. Anna stepped inside, realizing that the bartender was speaking with the strange, burly man from earlier. "I believe I left my card… did anyone find it?" Anna interrupted. The lady offered to go check in the office for her, and disappeared quickly. Anna could feel the eyes in the side of her face, illuminating from the lone patron left at the bar. She stared at the wall to make the whole situation as painless as possible.

"Hey. You. Clumsy girl." A voice echoed from the end of the bar. "Come over here for a minute. I don't bite."

Anna stood clueless. Did she venture that way, or just leave? Call the credit card in stolen by morning and just leave? 'Stupid conscience. I hate you, sometimes' she muttered to herself as she approached him. "What? Didn't give you enough laughs at my expense earlier? Figured showing up in pajamas would make it better for you."

The man smirked. "Look. I owe you an apology. You tried to do something nice for me earlier, and I disrespected you simply because I thought you disrespected me. I'm sorry for the things I said, and for making you feel like that. I'm really not that type of person." He said, hoping for an acceptance, but not expecting one.

Anna felt 100 pounds lift off of her shoulders. "Don't sweat it. If I were in your shoes, I'd have felt the same way. I never meant to offend you." She said with a smile. "I think we started off on the wrong foot, here. I'm all for starting fresh." She extended her hand. "I'm Anna. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Kristoff." He shook her hand abruptly. "Nice to meet you as well." They exchanged smiles. "Sorry for my appearance. I work in the coal mines. Didn't have the chance to stop at home today. So, you can tell your friend, sister, whichever… that yes, I have bathed this month." He laughed.

"My sister sometimes needs a muzzle when she goes out drinking. She doesn't have a filter." Anna chuckled as the bartender slid her card across the counter. "Doors are closing… out with you two!"

Anna proceeded out the large door into the parking lot. "It was nice to meet you, I'm glad I came back." She turned around to see that he had stopped walking, and was leaning against his vehicle.

"So, there's an all night diner down the road a piece. Care to join me for coffee?" He asked, still propped against his truck.

"I guess you do owe me a drink, don't you?" Anna laughed, while accepting his offer.

-xxx-xxx-xxx-

**Bare with me... first fanfiction attempt in over 15 years. Next chapter coming soon. Review? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the length between updates. I've slacked badly. Shame on me. Sorry it's short, but the next one won't take as long, I promise!**

"I'll meet you there in five." Anna smiled, as she walked to her car. She turned the key in the ignition, and gave the car a few minutes to warm up. She couldn't help but laugh to herself... the same man that ruined her night, was taking her out for coffee, and she was in pajama pants. She sat in silence, with her head resting on the steering wheel, as she had a battle with her inner conscience. _He could be a murderer, for all you know! What are you thinking?!_ It's a public place, I'll be fine... _You're so naive. You know nothing of this man._ I like to live on the edge. _Could be the edge of a cliff by the end of the night_ \- Ignoring her thoughts of rationality, Anna put the car in drive, and proceeded to the diner.

As she put the car in park, she could see a silhouette of a burly man, standing by the door, with his right leg propped against the building. She took a deep breath, and walked toward the door, tripping over the curb. "I'm okay, I'm okay..." she said, landing at his feet, and looking up. Her face was flushing with embarrassment, and she could feel the heat on her skin.

"You're just made of clumsy, aren't you?" He laughed, extending his hand to help her back to her feet. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I do this all the time, well... not all the time, but most of the time. I mean, it's not like it's every hour, of every day, but I do it al-" she stopped. "I'm rambling. I need to stop. Hello! I didn't even say hello! I -" she stopped as he cut her off.

"Hello to you, too. It's okay. Shall we go inside?" he said, trying to stifle his laughter. He held the door open as she walked in. They took the last booth in the row. "Are you hungry?"

"A little. I'm not used to being up this late, so my stomach is starting to get mad at me." She laughed. "I might get some breakfast. You?"

"Yeah, same here. They have some really great pancakes here." He smiled, looking back at the menu. Anna did the same. The nervous, sickening feeling in her stomach was suddenly gone. He seemed rather... normal. Rather... nice. Completely not what he came off as at the bar, when Elsa pissed him off. In reality, she couldn't blame him for shooting fire, considering what she said. He seemed like a really decent person. She was kind of glad she left her credit card behind.

"So, tell me about yourself." He said, as the waitress interrupted to take their order. They both handed the menus back. "So, as I was saying..." he continued.

"Well, I'm completely ordinary. I'm a model, so this whole street clothes at the bar thing felt so weird, because I'm not used to wearing anything but dresses and such... and these pajama pants are definitely out of character!" she joked.

"A model? You just don't seem like the type. I mean, you're eating pancakes!" he laughed.

"Some models do eat like a normal person, you know. It pays the bills, that's what matters. I share an apartment with my sister. She's a model too, but she's a lot pickier about everything compared to myself. She's a bit high maintenance, if you know what I mean." She continued.

"And a bit of a lush, from the looks of things." He laughed.

"Yeah, just a little. Like I told you before, she has no filter." She smiled. "So, tell me about you?"

"Well, I work in the mines, as I told you. I'm relatively boring. I live alone, so I pretty much work, come down to the bar, meet up with a few of the guys, then come here for some food. There isn't much to tell about me." he answered.

"I highly doubt that you're _boring_, as you put it." She sneered back. "This is the most conversation I've had with anyone, aside from those who I was out with tonight, in a very long time. So no, boring is not a good word to describe yourself." She muttered a laugh, as the food came. "And you're right, these pancakes look amazing!"

"And they taste just as amazing, trust me." He replied. "So who were the guys tonight? Is one of them your boyfriend?" He inquired.

"No, one is married to my cousin. The one who was on his way to help me up when I fell. He's great. The other is my sister's friend, at least that what she calls him. More like one of those friends with benefits deals, he's not into the commitment scene. He's just in it for the bonus. It's disgusting." she said, before eating a few more bites.

"So I'm guessing you're not a fan?" He asked.

"Not really. I tolerate him. He acts like she's a piece of property, and he owns her. He manhandles her, and I just don't understand why she stays around with that. I could never put up with being treated that way."

"So he's abusive? No man should ever treat a woman like that. No one should have to put up with being treated that way. I would agree with you on the _disgusting_. It's vile." he sneered back.

"Yeah, it's in his blood or something. He blames everything on the fact that he had 12 brothers growing up, and he was the youngest. He claims he got kicked around by them, and that apparently made him this way. Not an excuse, if you ask me." She answered.

"There is no excuse. Period. I'm sorry that you have to deal with that in your life." he replied, finishing the first pancake.

"It's alright. She doesn't choose to do anything to end it, so it's her own fault. She almost welcomes it, in a sick sort of way." She said, finishing her first pancake as well. "Like I said, we're two totally different people. I'd never stand for that. What about you? Are you married?"

He left out a chuckle. "Hardly. To be honest, you're the first female I've even been in the presence of, in, well, as long as I can remember. I don't get out much, I like keeping to myself. No drama, I can't ask for more than that." he said sipping his coffee. "But, I'm really glad you came with me tonight. I've enjoyed your company."

"I've enjoyed yours as well." She smiled. She couldn't get over the fact that under the gruff, burly mess of a mine man, he was actually attractive. His blonde locks fell over his big brown eyes, and those eyes had something about them that just made her... stare. She looked down at her plate. "And I've enjoyed these pancakes."

"I told you that you would." he said, peering up from his coffee cup with a smirk. "We should do this again, sometime."

"I'd like that." she responded, with a sheepish grin. "I'd like that a lot." Both parties stared aimlessly at each other for a few minutes. She quickly looked away as she realized that she was staring, again. "So, where were we?" She asked, trying to get a conversation going to kill the awkwardness.

"I have no idea. Your eyes are extremely hypnotic. I lost my train of thought." He smirked.

"Thanks, I think." She gave an embarrassed smile.

"Want to meet here tomorrow night? Maybe not so late?" he asked. Their eyes met again. "If not, it's fine."

"Absolutely. 10:00 tomorrow night? Sounds a lot better than 3 in the morning" She laughed.

"10 sounds great!" he replied, as the waitress set the check on the table.

"That will need to be split, please." Anna called behind her.

"No, it won't. It's on me. That's the least I can do considering what an asshole I was to you. On your birthday, no less. This one is my treat." He smiled.

"I couldn't..." she murmured.  
"I insist. Please. I'll be insulted if you don't."

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it." she replied. "It's getting late, I should get going."

"Myself as well, I work at 7 in the morning. Should be a nice, long day. Come on, I'll walk you out." he said as they both got up and went to the cashier. He walked her to her car. "Thank you for your company. I look forward to tomorrow night."

"Yes, maybe I'll find something more appropriate than pajamas." She laughed. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. The pleasure is all mine. Here." He handed her a folded piece of paper. "I'm not one to ask a girl for her number, so I'm giving you mine. If you decide you don't want to drive tomorrow, or you just want to save gas, give me a call. I'll gladly come get you. Or if you decide you just don't want to go, you can call me for that too."

"Thanks! I look forward to it. Good night!" she said, getting into her car and turning the key. Then came the inner voice again. _Are you completely insane?_ Possibly. Sometimes insane pays off...


	3. Chapter 3

**Told you I wouldn't be as long :) My stories have a lot of dialogue, and I don't know whether that's something to apologize for or not. Like I said, I haven't done this in over 15 years, so bare with me. I'll update again, sooner than later. Enjoy! Reviews are great :)**

Anna was fairly delusional for the entire drive home. If Elsa was awake, she'd have a lot of explaining to do. _If anything, she'll be hungover…_ she said to herself. When Elsa wasn't in her drunken state, she always stood as the voice of reason. Anna stared at the apartment as she parked the car. What had she gotten herself into? Breakfast with the man she scoffed with hours ago, and she just agreed to see him again later tonight? Elsa was going to have her head. For sure.

She could hear pans banging in the kitchen when she unlocked the door. "Anna! Is that you!?" called Elsa's voice down the hall, still slurred.

"Elsa, what are you doing? You should be back in bed, you're going to burn the apartment down." she pleaded. "Please, go back to bed."

"I'm hungry. And why should I go to bed? You're not in bed. Where were you, anyway?" she inquired in a half-daze, devouring the scrambled eggs from her plate as if she hadn't eaten in weeks.

"I'll talk to you about it when you're back to sober. You're ridiculous. I'm going to bed." – Anna walked away. At least this gave her time to think about how to say this to her sister. It wasn't going to be pretty, either way. She left out a long sigh as she closed the bedroom door. The events of the evening kept running through her head as she searched for words that didn't sound, well, bad. She couldn't help but smile every time she recounted the moments. The more she kept going over it, the more anxious she became for going out again tonight. He was so… what's the word. Endearing? It still had her in shock. She kept her mind on track, figured out her 'speech' that she knew wouldn't go as planned, and took a nap. It had been a long night, after all.

~*~*~*~

Anna awoke to the sounds of some heated argument through the door. She emerged as she saw Elsa hang up her phone. "Are you okay?" she yelled down the hall as she walked toward the kitchen.

Elsa smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Feeling much better than earlier. What a night." She laughed. "So, you want to tell me why you strolled in at four in the morning? Wearing pajamas, no less?"

"I left my credit card at the bar. You were passed out. Flynn and Hans both had their phones off, so I went back for it." she said smugly.

"And that took you until four in the morning?" Elsa asked. "I can't believe you went alone. Are you okay? You didn't get attacked by any big burly cave-looking bar men?" She sneered.

"You need to stop. Now. I'm fine." Anna snapped back. The words she thought of last night were now gone. Anger was taking over, and she had no recollection of anything sensible that she had imagined. Why was her sister such an ass sometimes?

"I just worry about you, Anna…" Elsa began. Anna interrupted.

"You judge people way too quickly. What you did last night was uncalled for, and completely disrespectful. You were born as a royal, and you act this way? You worry about ME? I think you need to worry more about yourself." Anna sneered.

"Why are you defending your charity case, Anna? He was just as mean to you as I was to him!" Elsa replied, still with a smirk on her face.

"He was only nasty to me because you had to get drunk, and act like a total bitch!" she snapped.

Elsa stood speechless. "Anna, I…"

"Don't bother. Your apologies are worthless. You ruined my birthday. Thank you for that." Anna replied, turning away.

Elsa grabbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I should learn to control myself. Clearly control has always been an issue, that's why we're here." Elsa sobbed. "I'm sorry, Anna. I love you."

"I love you too, but really. You can't judge people just because they're not "like us". Just because they don't wear designer clothes, or sit with a bunch of people when they're out for a night. He's actually a really nice person…" Anna stopped, worried at what had just come out of her mouth. She was going to ignore the whole thing, but now she couldn't stop. There weren't words… just stares.

"A really. nice. person." Elsa snapped. "Are you kidding me right now? You're just lucky that he wasn't at the bar when you went back!"

"Maybe he was." Anna yelled. "Once again, you know nothing of what you speak of!"

Elsa fell silent. "He was there? Did he say anything mean to you? Was anyone else there? Are you sure you—" Anna cut her off.

"He was there. It was just him, and the bartender. Mean? Not a damn thing. He apologized. Which is something I think you should do sometime." She replied. "He was so "mean" that he invited me for coffee. That's why I was so late coming home."

Elsa stood widemouthed. "You went somewhere with this man? Alone? What is the matter with you? At that time of night?! You could have been raped, murdered… Anna! What-"

Anna cut her off again. "Elsa, I'm fine. Yes, I went with him. We ended up having breakfast. Everything is just fine."

Elsa snapped. "Of all of the stupid, clumsy, brainless things you've done, this is by FAR the worst. You were out all night in the middle of nowhere with… with THAT."

Anna was getting angry. "His name is Kristoff. Use it."

"I'll call him whatever I want to. You're just lucky to have made it home without having your body cut up in a dumpster or something." Elsa started. "Need I remind you of how men are?"

"Are you joking? Pot calling the kettle black, much?" Anna retaliated. "Not all men are abusive assholes like Hans is to you! You let him treat you like a doormat, and you find it acceptable. You have no room to EVER talk to me about how men 'are'. I had enough sense to leave him before he ever touched me, but apparently his stellar wit and charm manages to keep you with him. Is the sex really that great that it's worth it to you, Elsa? The bruises, the scars… If you had any respect for yourself, you'd do something about it."

"Deep down he loves me, Anna." Elsa muttered. "That's what matters."

"Elsa, what do you know about true love?" Anna chased. "I believe you once asked me this same question. I didn't understand why at the time, but I know now that you were right."

Elsa kept the same expression on her face. "He does love me, Anna. It's not like we just met. He's coming over tonight, by the way."

"Oh, joy!" Anna exclaimed with sarcasm. "I have plans tonight anyway, thankfully."

"Plans? With who? The hob-er…" Elsa began, stopping herself. _Control, Conceal. Don't feel._

"Yes, with KRISTOFF. Again, he has a name." Anna stammered back.

"You're going out with that man again? What is the matter with you?" Elsa asked, with a disappointed look on her face. She didn't mean to let that slip out of her mouth that time. "I mean, yeah. That's great, Anna. I just worry about you. "

"Yes, Elsa. I am going out with him again. We had a great time last night." Anna continued.

"And what exactly DID you do last night?" Elsa asked, suggestively with a smirk.

"We ate breakfast. I'm sure he found the way I chewed my pancakes to be a total turn on." Anna replied sarcastically. "I'm not like you, Elsa. I don't go to breakfast to get a quick piece of ass. I go to get food. You don't have to worry. I don't think he's going to dump my body in a river, or beat me. That's your cup of tea."

Elsa fell silent. "Touché. I deserved that."

"You deserve a lot more than that, but I'll play nice." Anna smirked. "What time is douchebag coming over?"

"Namecalling? When did that start?" Elsa quirked.

"Well, you seem to be a pro at doing it, so we can say I learned from the best." Anna smiled. "Now what time?"

"Around 5." Elsa replied. Anna shot her a quick glare.

"Lovely. I'm going to go get a shower." She smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Since you worry about everything you shouldn't worry about, I promise you that I won't drown."

~*~*~*~

Anna picked a pair of blue jeans and a shirt, dressed herself, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Rummaging through her purse, she found the paper that she had from last night, and grabbed her phone. She wasn't even in the mood to deal with Hans and his egotistical nonsense. She sighed. She had never so much as called a guy before, especially not to go somewhere. She didn't even know if he'd be home from work. She could leave a voicemail. That's the easy way out. _Just call, you stinker. It's a phone. It won't bite._ Damn that inner voice. Damn it all. The phone started to ring. Three rings later, she felt a sigh of relief as the voicemail was about to come on. A gruff voice answered right before it changed over. _Damn it!_

"Uh… is this Kristoff?" she asked dumbfounded. She didn't even know what to say. "It's Anna…"

"Just as I figured, you'd call to bail for tonight. It's completely cool, I understand, I…" he started.

"Now who's rambling?" she laughed. "No silly, I wasn't calling to bail on you."

"Oh?" He asked with surprise. "You still want to go, then?"

"I was kinda sorta hoping that you'd maybe want to go earlier?" she explained. "My sister is having Hans over, and I really don't want to be here, so I figured if you wanted some company, we could hang out or something." She took a breath. She had that same damn pit in her stomach as the night before.

"Absolutely! What time works for you?" he said with a smile in his voice. "I got off of work early, so I'm good to go."

"Half an hour?" She asked. "I'm ready, and he gets here in about ten minutes."

"Sure. Do you want a ride, or do you want to meet somewhere?" he asked. Anna stopped. Elsa would eat him alive if he came there. She could just see it in her mind. Elsa getting all bent out of shape over the man who took her sister to dinner, ice shards flying everywhere, and the same disaster as before happening all over again. At the same time, it was a waste of gas. She didn't have many hours of work this week, and she was tight on cash as it was. "Uh…" she started. A really split second decision to make in… "If you want to come get me, that's cool with me. I can give you directions." _What the hell are you doing? Now you have no escape! Haven't you learned yet that your judgment is terrible?! _

Ignoring the voice, she finished giving him directions. "Third building on the right. I'm on the second floor, but I'll come outside to meet you. Call if you get lost, I assume you have caller ID." She smiled, as the call ended. She put her phone in her purse, and put her shoes on. She walked downstairs.

"I'm going out early, I'll talk to you whenever. Enjoy your date… ugh." She scoffed. "Better you than me."

"You're going with him? Already? I think Hans just blocked your car in." Elsa laughed. "Guess you're stuck here with us."

"Nah, he's picking me up." Anna replied, waiting for the wrath.

"He's WHAT?!" Elsa exclaimed. "You have got to be kidding me, Anna. You're going somewhere with him? Without a way to leave? Seriously. You have something wrong with your head."

"I do? There's a big mirror in my room. Feel free to look in it. I'll do as I wish." she snapped back.

"I'll do the same. Hans is staying the night tonight. See you when you get back." she smirked. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

_That leaves a lot to the imagination_ \- Anna thought to herself. It's sad when even your inner voice has sarcasm. She shut the door and made her way down the hall, passing Hans as he entered the apartment building.

"Anna! There you are! I came just to see you!" Hans said, with a sadistic smirk on his face. "Why are you leaving? I wanted to add you as a special notch on my belt for tonight. Two sisters, one night, I can't lose with that one. What do you say?"

"Go to hell." Anna said sternly, letting the door slam behind her. Hans pushed the door back open.

"You'll never find another man like me!" he laughed, his cackling voice carrying down the sidewalk.

"Thank God!" Anna screamed back. "One scum sucking pig like you is plenty for a lifetime." He grabbed her arm.

"Need I remind you who I am, Princess?" He threatened. "You know I always get what I want."

"Get your hands off of me, you piece of shit." She said as she wrestled free of his grip as a truck came to a skidding stop. She heard the driver's door slam, as Hans retreated into the building. "In time, my Princess, in time…" as the door shut.

Kristoff approached the building. "Let it go." Anna said softly. "Just get me the hell out of here." He walked her to his truck and opened the door. He shut the door once she was inside, and made his way to the driver's seat. "Are you alright?" he asked, noticing the tears building up in her blue eyes. She couldn't even respond, as she broke into tears with her head in her hands. "Please, just drive" she pleaded in scattered breaths – "Please. Anywhere."

Kristoff stayed silent while he drove aimlessly in the direction of the mines where he worked. He pulled off at a lookout at the top of the mountain, and parked the car. "Talk to me. Are you alright?" He asked again.

"I'll be fine, just shaken up by it. He's never actually put his hands on me before. I can't stand him. He's so disgusting." She said, trying to stop the tears. "Thank you for doing this. I don't even know how to express how much I appreciate it."

"There's no need to thank me. I would do it again, anytime." He said with a smile. He put his hand on her shoulder and brushed the hair out of her face. "He has no clue where you are, you can stop crying."

"I know. I'm sorry." She sniffled. "I just. I don't know what to say. I feel like there's so much I need to explain to you. I don't have anyone to vent to."

"I'm all ears." He smiled back. "We have all day. I'm in no hurry."

"I'm going to bore you, so I'm sorry." She started. "But there's more to me than you think."

"I could have guessed that much." He chuckled. "Go on. You're anything but boring."

"You have no idea. I'll start at the beginning." She stated. "We just moved here about three months ago. This is all completely new to me. In more ways than one. Myself, my sister, my cousin and her husband, and that asshole back at the apartment. We all moved here from Norway."

"Norway?" He inquired. "I knew you had a bit of an accent." He smiled as she continued.

"I really hope this doesn't scare you off, I have quite a lot of baggage. I'm trusting you with things that no one else knows. Please promise me that what is said, stays in this car." She pleaded. "Everything will just make more sense once you know."

"Your secret is safe with me, dear. I have no one to spill it to anyway." He laughed. "Go on. You won't scare me off. We all have baggage."

"Alright…" she continued, with a deep breath. "We come from a place called Arendelle. Sounds normal, but here's the problem. We're far from normal. We're Royal. Our parents, King Agdar and Queen Idun, they died in a boat accident when we were young." She looked over to see the look on his face.

"So, you're a Princess? That's what he meant by what he said to you?" Kristoff asked, bewildered.

Anna turned red. "Yes. And when Elsa turned 18, she became Queen. I'm shortening this story so I don't bore you, Kristoff, so bear with me here. Elsa and I didn't spend time together during our childhood, and she would never tell me why. No one ever came into our castle, the doors and gates were always closed. On the night of my sister's coronation, I met this prince when I was outside of the Castle. He was handsome, and charming, and in my desperate state of craving attention, he gave me just that. By the end of the night, after spending a few hours together, he asked me to marry him, and like a desperate lonely idiot, I said yes."

"You got engaged to someone you just met that day?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, and Elsa got really mad when I approached her and asked her to bless the marriage. She started to walk away, angry, and I ripped her glove off. I never knew why she wore gloves all the time, I just figured she had a thing about dirt. She got angry, and shot a bunch of ice shards through the room. Apparently, she has some kind of magical ice powers, and she set off an eternal winter." She glanced over to see that he was still listening, shocked that she hadn't freaked him out yet. "So, long story short, things happened, and she ran off. It took a while, but I managed to find her. She couldn't thaw the winter, and we had a huge argument. She hit me with ice from her hands during the argument. She froze my heart. Hans left me to die, because with me out of the way, and Elsa being deemed a witch, he could take over the kingdom, which was his original intent. I found my sister as he was ready to kill her, and I jumped between them. He hit me with his sword. This ended the spell, and melted the ice throughout the kingdom. All was happy and well, but the Duke of Weselton, he called it treason, and everything crumbled for us. Elsa temporarily vacated the throne, and we left the country. That's what brought us here. "

Kristoff sat with his eyes wide. "This is a lot to digest. I don't even know what to say."

"I know." Anna said. "I swear I'm not nuts, I know it all sounds that way. Hans seems to think that being all lovey with my sister will do something for him with the hierarchy. Sadly, she lets him play her like a puppet. It makes me sick. Tonight, he asked me to be a special notch on his belt. I'd rather BE the fucking belt so I could choke him with it." She said, covering her mouth. "I'm sorry."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Don't apologize for being honest. You're real, and I like that. I thought it was pretty awesome that you were a model, but a Princess? That's beyond words."

"I kind of enjoy the sense of 'normal' living here. I just with he wouldn't have had to come along. Elsa is convinced that he loves her. It's enough to make you ill." She sneered. "But that at least explains to you why we're here. My cousin, she's a princess too. Different kingdom, they don't have issues like us. They're not staying here permanently. And the fact that you haven't run out the door and far, far away says a lot about you." She laughed. "I'm done rambling now. Thanks for listening."

"You're smiling again, so you're more than welcome. I'll listen anytime you want to vent, no matter how crazy the story may sound." He smiled. "What would you like to do? It's a bit early for dinner. Did you want to catch a movie, or something? There's a pretty nice drive-in up this way."

"Works for me. I told you. I'm the low maintenance one. I'm not picky." She smiled. "Just clumsy."

"Yes. That you definitely are." He laughed as he put the truck into drive.


End file.
